The Teacher in Town by Olivia Olson

walked late into the night, collecting images. When he got home, he would lay the images outon his desk like stones and sort them. Every night he did this, and every night, he felt as if theman who searched for images was different than the man who sorted them like stones. Theman hunched over sorting resented the man who walked freely, and the walking man resentedthe greed of the man waiting at home, hungry for stones. Both men grew hatred inside of them.The walking man began to bring home stranger and stranger images, challenging the man athome to find a useful way to sort them. The man at home set them in great ugly forms that thewalking man felt were a waste of time. One night, the walking man blinded himself to all theimages he saw and brought nothing to the man at home. They spoke little after that, and just letthe fire in the hearth light his face in unexpected bursts until it was time to sleep.